BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Western Europe saw its hottest June on record this year, as searing heat claimed lives, disrupted power supplies and drove up demand for cooling products across the region, underscoring the urgency for Europe to adapt to a changing climate marked by more frequent and severe extreme weather events.
With climate change posing an increasingly global challenge, experts say deeper China-EU cooperation regarding climate action and green transition will be essential to advancing global climate governance.
Across parts of Europe, temperatures recently exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, while health authorities reported a sharp rise in heat-related deaths during the hottest periods. Chinese-made air conditioners also saw strong sales growth in several European markets, reflecting growing demand for climate adaptation solutions amid increasingly frequent heatwaves.
Scientists say the latest heatwave was driven in part by a persistent high-pressure system known as a "heat dome," while climate change is making such extreme weather events more frequent and intense. The World Meteorological Organization has, meanwhile, warned that a strengthening El Niño is expected to increase the likelihood of heatwaves, droughts, heavy rainfall and other extreme weather events in many parts of the world in the coming months.
"The growing toll of extreme weather is delivering a stark message: when disaster strikes, national borders offer no protection," said Wang Lei, a professor at Beijing Normal University's School of Government. As climate risks intensify, cooperation between China, the world's largest developing country, and the EU, the largest grouping of developed economies, is of global consequence.
Wang noted that within a context of the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, strains on multilateral climate commitments and growing divides between developed and developing countries, China and the EU are playing an increasingly important role as a "stabilizing force" in global climate governance, making stronger climate action essential.
Climate cooperation has long anchored China-EU relations. Chinese and EU leaders in 2025 reaffirmed their commitment to global climate action, noting that the two sides have a solid foundation for cooperation and broad potential for collaboration in the green transition.
Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, argued that China and the EU should join hands to provide leadership in global climate governance, including by fostering domestic and international environments that encourage investment in the transition to net-zero emissions and climate-resilient economies.
He also emphasized the need to expand the financing capacity of multilateral development banks, so that developing economies can tap into the significant investment opportunities offered by the green transition.
"Further advancing the China-EU Green Partnership serves the interests of people on both sides while offering renewed hope for global sustainable development," said Zhang Haibin, deputy director of Peking University's Institute of Carbon Neutrality.
With Chinese and EU leaders firmly committed to advancing climate cooperation, the next task is to remove policy and technological barriers and turn broad consensus into workable projects, Zhang added.
China and the EU are pursuing low-carbon development through different approaches, said Hu Bin, an associate professor at the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development at Tsinghua University in Beijing, citing China's efforts to align climate goals with economic growth, technological advancement and energy security.
The EU, meanwhile, has pursued its green transition through carbon pricing, regulation and standard system, he noted.
"China and Europe are deeply interdependent," Hu said, pointing to new opportunities in areas such as low-carbon standards, hydrogen energy and energy storage. ■
